Research News

Safer manufacturing through materials science

By JANE STOYLE WELCH

“This is an unusual project — with its emphasis on the interplay between science, technology, and their interaction with human behavior to impact social change.”

Krishna Rajan, Erich Bloch Endowed Chair

Department of Materials Design and Innovation

Imagine a thriving community built around manufacturing jobs
where the production methods and processes not only minimize waste
and mitigate negative environmental impacts, but also address
health risks posed to residents and workers.

How do we get there? Who needs to have a seat at the table?

A new partnership, facilitated by The JPB Foundation, aims to
address these questions and more through the formation of the
Collaboratory for a Regenerative Economy (CoRE). Led by UB’s
Department of Materials Design and Innovation (MDI), CoRE is a
collaboration with Clean Production Action and Niagara Share.

CoRE will bring together scientists, manufacturers, community
partners and other key stakeholders to understand the challenges in
building a self-sustaining economy in rapidly expanding and
evolving industries.

“This is an unusual project — with its emphasis on
the interplay between science, technology, and their interaction
with human behavior to impact social change,” says Krishna
Rajan, Erich Bloch Endowed Chair of MDI.

While the initial focus of the project is on solar panel
manufacturing, the findings will serve as a testbed that can later
be scaled and used for other industries.

“Our project seeks to lower the barriers to the adoption
of production processes that are environmentally friendly and offer
the potential to improve community health,” Rajan says.

“We will use cutting-edge discoveries in materials science
and engineering to develop innovative and transformative approaches
to design data-driven, green-manufacturing processes that will
reduce the use of toxic chemicals and/or those derived from fossil
fuels in the solar panel manufacturing industry,” he
says.

This data-driven approach to designing alternate materials for
industrial use will include human and environmental health
factors.

“Our aim is to not only reduce the use of harmful
chemicals in industrial production, but also reduce the health
hazards arising from the exposure to toxic chemicals, both during
production and when products are decommissioned,” says Mark
Rossi, executive director of Clean Production Action, which is
based in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Since low-income families make up a significant portion of the
frontline communities that are impacted by industrial and energy
production, the project aligns closely with The JPB
Foundation’s focus on health and poverty.

“This unique partnership among the academic research
community, non-governmental and community outreach organizations
brings together complementary expertise — in research, market
analysis, policy formulation and social innovation — to
support the transition toward a safer materials economy,”
says Liesl Folks, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences.

Key features of the CoRE initiative include industry and
community-targeted workshops, an MDI Summer Institute and a
traineeship program that links MDI students with community
organizations and other constituencies.

A “change agent” program will provide industry and
community leaders with the tools needed to understand and analyze
these technologies, the inherent risks and cost-benefits involved,
and the best methods for adopting new approaches.

“The project embraces both scientific advancements and
social innovation, underlining the importance of bringing together
people and resources in new, more effective ways to create
resilient networks that can drive new innovation and value for our
communities, businesses and local economies,” says Alexandra
McPherson, principal of Niagara Share, a Buffalo-based
nonprofit.

Adds Robin Schulze, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences:
“This project aligns with MDI’s core mission of
addressing societal needs through significant acceleration of
design and discovery of new materials in a socially responsible
manner.”

UB’s Department of Materials Design and Innovation is a
collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences and the
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.